A travel through time: Old photos of Tet in Hanoi ninety years ago

February 19, 2018 | 01:15 pm GMT+7 Take a peek into the past to see how the cherished traditional Tet looked like. The Tet frantic rush usually starts a month before the clock strikes Lunar New Year, with people busy shopping, preparing for the homecoming, cleaning and decorating houses, and cooking Tet specialties, and the celebration can last to another month after the official holiday. Yet many are arguing Tet is losing its magic amid the modern fast-paced life, and if the country should abandon the long-standing festival and its accompanied “exhaustion”, joining the rest of the world to celebrate only one New Year Eve instead. Others on the other hand, are trying to revive the flavors of Tet to prove how it has been a sacred, venerable tradition passed on for centuries and should be kept for the next generations. While the debate spirals on, take a look back at the Tet spirit in Hanoi almost a century ago, before the wars, the Subsidy Period and then the modern lifestyle rolled in. These black and white photos, taken mostly at the central market of Dong Xuan in the 1920s give a glimpse of the Tet bustle that the elders have been nostalgic for. Photos via Flickr/manhhai. Cherry blossoms were being sold at a corner of Dong Xuan Market. Waiting to get blessings written in calligraphy, a New Year tradition that is still kept alive today in the capital. People curiously surrounded a balloon store in Hanoi. Bamboo leaves used to wrap banh chung,… [Read full story]

This is an example page. It's different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this: Hi there! I'm a bike messenger by day, aspiring actor by night, and this is my website. I live in Los Angeles, have a great dog named Jack, and I like piña coladas. (And gettin' caught in the rain.) ...or something like this: The XYZ Doohickey Company was founded in 1971,…... [read more]

The Hanoitimes - An exhibition of 60 photographs depicting Ha Noi in the early 20th century opened at the Paris International Student Community House in Paris, France. Taken by Leon Busy between 1914 and 1917, the images were selected by historian Emmanuel Poisson and ethnologist Dinh Trong Hieu from an archive of more than 1,500 photos. Busy was commissioned to take the pictures by banker and charity activist Albert Kahn, who wanted to build an archive of colour photos depicting all nations in the world. The photo archive now forms part of the Albert Kahn Museum in Boulogne - Billancourt,…... [read more]

90 photos about Hanoi in the past are on display at 47 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi at an exhibition opened on January 25th. The exhibition was held by the Xua va Nay (Past and Present) Magazine under the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences and the Hanoi Library. These photos were collected by lovers of Hanoi, including a photo collection by French collector Philippe Chaplain published in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Photos were arranged according to topics with brief notes to help visitors understand more about the history of Vietnam in general and Hanoi in particular…... [read more]

VietNamNet Bridge – Two books and an exhibition give readers the opportunity to visit a time marked by scarcity and long periods of waiting in queues. Nostalgic Hanoians remember that things were more equal then, Nguyen My Ha reports. Related news Images: Hanoian children in the 1990s Life in the slow lane: An over-loaded tram was a common sight during the bao cap years. Their slow speed invited many youths to jump off and on as they moved, and accidents did happen. — VNS File Photos No beer lover in Ha Noi, or beer lover from elsewhere who's been in…... [read more]

On the first spring days, Antoine Sadoul and his girlfriend Maria Sanchez go to Hanoi to visit the places where his great grandfather - French army doctor Louis Sadoul - lived from 1889 to 1905. The Sadoul family treasures the precious black and white photos taken in Hanoi and many other places in Vietnam by Dr. Louis Sadoul between 1889 - 1894 and 1903-1905. In the photos, Long Bien Bridge appears with graceful arches as a poetic industrial sculpture which gradually blurs into the smog on the other side of the Red River; Hang Ngang Street with slightly slanted ancient…... [read more]